I'm new to this forum and more importantly I'm new to the world of DSLR. I shoot with a Canon 450d.

I was wondering if someone could advise me on what type of telephoto zoom lens people would recommend. I have been reading some great reviews regarding the canon L series 70-200mm lens. However in both cases there has been good and bad reviews for each of the IS and non IS versions. I think getting the f2.8 version is out of the question as that is way too exspensive, so I was more focussing on the canon 70-200 L mm 4.0 (IS and non IS) versions.

In addition, if people have other lens recommendation, I'm more than happy to hear about them.

I was in the same boat as you , and made up my mind on the 70-200 f/4 IS . Why's that ? Well I got several reasons :

_Firstly : this lens is weather sealed , not the non IS one.
_Secondly : I figured that I needed the IS ( up to 4 stops on this model ) since i don't bring my tripod everywhere.
_Thirdly : it's a bit better than her 2.8 sister past f/4.0 in image quality .

I really think the IS version is worth its price and I'm sure it won't leave your camera when you get it

Go for the IS. You really need it on telephoto lenses... and its easier to resell if you ever decide to sell it. In my local area there are three or four f/4 non IS versions on the market, but only one IS model.

Go for the IS. You really need it on telephoto lenses... and its easier to resell if you ever decide to sell it. In my local area there are three or four f/4 non IS versions on the market, but only one IS model.

I respectfully disagree. Whilst IS is great to have for long lenses, it's mostly being used for more stationary subjects (paparazzi/wildlife). The situation changes for action photography. Say you're shooting at 200 mm (cropped frame), you'd need a 1/300th shutter speed to prevent camera shake in your pictures. IS would allow you to use ~1/30. Now I dare you to shoot sports at 1/30th. The only sport pics that would turn out well are chess pics

No, you need fast shutter speeds for sports. IS is nice to have, but a large aperture beats it. Check out my review on the sigma 70-200 f/2.8 in the user reviews section if you'd like to spend a bit less, or buy the canon 70-200 IS f/2.8 if you're richer than me and value the addition of IS for non-sports photography.

_________________I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I think I'd have to agree with Citruspers on this because I think that fast shutter speed will be the most important thing here. The best way of getting fast shutter speeds is to get more light. Unless of course he's not shooting action. Then IS is fine.